Indian diplomat leaves United States after indictment

Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy consul general in New York, is on her way to India after facing charges by a U.S. federal grand jury in Manhattan.

The tension began in December after the accusation that Khobragade, 39, didn’t pay her nanny an appropriate rate. The allegation was that Khobragade lied on an application regarding amount of payment to her domestic staff.

Lawyers for the diplomat have denied Khobragade’s guilt, and said that she is entitled to diplomatic immunity. Representatives from New Delhi are demanding that Washington drop all charges. They insisted that officials in Washington apologize, according to CNN.

In India, the treatment after the arrest was considered to be particularly offensive. Sreeram Chaulia, an international affairs expert at Jindal School of International Affairs in New Delhi told the Associated Press, “The case goes beyond the dignity of one diplomat. India made its point, which is that you can’t take India for granted.”

Khobragade was transferred to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. Khobragade asserted that the episode should not continue to have an upsetting effect on her family.